The Houston Texans are reportedly slashing prices on the cost to get a crack at Jadeveon Clowney.

And while I spent Wednesday outlining the reasons the Patriots will most likely be trading down on Thursday night, what would it cost for them to make the boldest of moves and go from 29 to No. 1 for the chance to select Jadeveon Clowney?

According to John McLain of the Houston Chronicle, Houston wants a first-round swap, second and third-rounders this season and a first-rounder in 2015.
That’s 4-for-1.

If the Pats executed as McLain laid it out, they’d be sending the 29th, 62nd and 93rd picks to the Texans and their 2015 first-rounder which, one would expect, would be lower than 25.

Mock drafts are not a science. All of the so-called "experts" put together their version of what they think will happen on draft day and, for the most part, they are simply educated guesses.

The "experts" analyze the most pressing need for each team, peruse the list of draft eligible talent, and make their guesses of who will go where. Draft boards change on a daily basis and putting out a mock draft three months from draft day is 100% senseless.

On that note...I waited until the final moments to make my guesses.

02:35pm EST | May 08

Three NFL teams have told Zach Mettenberger they have him rated in top half of the second round, according to a source

After the ESPN draft-talker declared earlier in the day that Johnny Manziel was the No. 1 player on the Cowboys draft board, it turns out he’s lower than that.

According to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (who is in a better position to know), Manziel is actually the second-ranked quarterback on the team’s board, thereby not the top player. Their top quarterback is Blake Bortles.

Travel a little? Cross the country a couple of times? Or get a job, wake up at 5 a.m. to pack your own lunch and head to work with your dad on a construction site in the dead of winter?

Most of all, what you do is get perspective. That's exactly what quarterback Tom Savage, who is drawing a lot of interest as this week's NFL draft approaches, discovered during the nearly three years he spent waiting to throw a meaningful pass in a college game.

“The whole thing was humbling,” said Savage, who went from freshman All-American in 2009 at Rutgers to practically unknown commodity by 2013 at Pitt, where he had to walk on. In between, there was a stop at the University of Arizona.

“I was a young, bitter, pissed-off kid. Patience wasn’t part of my background. I had to go back and earn everything,” said Savage, who quit the Rutgers team after the 2010 season. Savage got hurt that season and was told by then-Rutgers coach Greg Schiano that he would have to compete to get his job back.

On the eve of the NFL draft, Johnny Manziel said he has no idea which team will pick him but that any quarterback-needy team that passes on him will regret it.

"I believe they will, personally," he said Wednesday at a league-sponsored function in Lower Manhattan. "I know in my heart how good I want to be and how committed I am to this game."

The former Texas A&M star, projected as a possible top-10 pick, is confident he has alleviated concerns about his off-the-field habits. Clearly, though, he's still bothered by the perception that he's a schoolyard quarterback.

"I see there's room for me to improve, but to say I'm just a backyard-football quarterback, I don't think you do what I did in college and do some of those things [with that style]," he told about 40 reporters. "I don't think that's extremely fair. I hear it, but for me, I know it's all about my work ethic and my will to get better. That's very alive and inside me."

As the Cleveland Browns continue to search for a quarterback who would be worth the eight-figure salary that a franchise passer commands, they’ve spent a six-figure sum on trying to identify the best way to choose a quarterback.

According to Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, the Browns commissioned a study of the quarterback position that cost $100,000 and entailed a great deal of research into which qualities go into success at the most important position in football. The study began under former team President Joe Banner and was only recently completed, after Banner left.

The 2014 NFL Draft will be here in just a few hours, and the buzz is building around the Buffalo Bills’ selection at ninth overall. After speaking with some people around the league, there are a few more layers to add on to what the Bills’ draft plans might be.

One of the hottest names in the draft right now is LSU wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., and one of the biggest proponents of his talents are indeed the Bills. According to league sources, Beckham, Jr. is a player Buffalo is very serious about taking with their ninth overall pick in the event a board plays out a certain way.

If South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, Auburn offensive tackle Greg Robinson, Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins and Texas A&M offensive tackle Jake Matthews are all off the board as expected, the Bills will take a long, hard look at both Beckham, Jr. and North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron and debate the merits of drafting one versus the other when it gets to their selection, according to sources.

01:28pm EST | May 08

Teams with some level of interest in trading BACK include OAK, TB, TENN, BALT, MIA, NE (surprise, surprise).

The comparisons between Jadeveon Clowney and Lawrence Taylor are unavoidable.

Taylor, the former Giants legend, is arguably the great pass-rusher in NFL history. Clowney has a long way to measure up to Taylor's accomplishments, but the South Carolina defensive end enters Thursday's NFL Draft as one of the most hyped pass-rushers to join the league in years.

Clowney, who burst onto the national scene last year with a crushing tackle in the Outback Bowl, is widely projected to go to the Houston Texans with the first pick in the draft.

Clowney is embracing the high expectations that will accompany him to the NFL. And if that means comparisons to Taylor, Clowney won't shy away.

12:58pm EST | May 08

I expect Texans to take Clowney if they stay at 1. If they trade down, could be a QB or Mack. They must get a QB in first or second round.

The
Houston Texans are interested in trading out of the No. 1 overall pick
in the NFL Draft, which kicks off Thursday. Unfortunately for the
Texans, they’re struggling to find trade partners and they have pretty
lofty demands. - See more at:
http://www.prosportsdaily.com/articles/texans-want-2-firstround-picks-and-a-secondround-pick-to-trade-down-from-no-1-overall-303699.html#sthash.DMtC9qTX.dpuf

The
Houston Texans are interested in trading out of the No. 1 overall pick
in the NFL Draft, which kicks off Thursday. Unfortunately for the
Texans, they’re struggling to find trade partners and they have pretty
lofty demands.

According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, a team in
the top 10 called the Texans and asked about the pick, and Houston told
them it’d take three first-round draft picks and a second round.